Maybe the reason that to-do lists have never helped me accomplish things is that I write them with such a grand, sweeping scope.
Because I have not been in the habit of keeping a regularly updated list of long and short term goals, along with daily tasks to accomplish them, when I set out to make a to-do list I mix together things that will take me years with things I really need to get done by next week. And then when I read it over it looks incredibly daunting so I go lie down with a novel I've read six times before.
So here's a shockingly obvious idea: I should keep updated lists of long, medium and short term goals... and I should break each one down into weekly tasks that are undaunting, exciting or at least do-able. Tasks that are covered by the instruction I've got on my wall "Don't avoid what is easy." (And I haven't forgotten about making Oblique Strategy paintings for uds! Don't worry! I'm getting them shipped from Procrasti shortly!)
This all seems really rigid and structured to me, but I see it as necessary if I want to become someone who regularly gets things done. The art show I helped organize with its documentary screening and discussion, and people asking me all about my painting and listening interestedly in my answers... that was so rewarding. I loved it. It brought home the idea that changing the way I've been living is worth it.
I think this post ties into Nicole's latest. I love the idea of 101 goals. I think without even trying I will hammer out at least 60 of them.
But so... do y'all have any suggestions for breaking down large and medium and small goals into smaller tasks? Ideally I would like to make a schedule of small tasks to follow. Maybe I could draw one up every Friday? Or Thursday? I don't want to waste any of Sunday doing it. Maybe Thursday would be good because it's nearly the weekend but not an evening when I'm usually social.
But so how do I pick which goals to work on which weeks? I think it would be good to break them into categories: like writing, visual art, finance, employment, healthy living, etc. And then to rotate which art categories get worked on each week so I stay interested. And to keep important ones like finance in my task schedule every week.
Hmm. Hmm, hmm. Thoughts?
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I feel like either Excel or Access would be really good for this. Maybe better Excel since Access is byzantine and confusing and I barely understand how it works.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking Outlook's tasks - when I have a busy job, I LIVE BY my Outlook task list and it helps things not fall through the cracks. You can organize them by date, etc., and they turn red when you're late. I always would break them down into bite-sized pieces and set a due date for each piece. Every day, I'd check my list and reassign any tasks I didn't finish.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is, I don't have Outlook at home! I have a Mac, and lists in the mail programs aren't the same as Outlook's!